DisMomAmy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2007
- Messages
- 7,994
First a little update on us... This week is school vacation but we don't have too much planned. We do have something fun planned for the weekend but the week will mostly be various appointments. We take both boys down to Boston to check in with the Developmental Pediatrician tomorrow. It looks like it's going to be a snowy week here, on & off. Luckily it's holding off until later in the day tomorrow so we don't have to deal with that during our rush hour commute into the Boston area.
I'll fill you in on our weekend plans later!
Now the big resort decision... I think Tim & I have decided which condo we want Sheraton Vistana Resort!
To refresh your memories, it was between Marriott Cypress Harbour, Sheraton Vistana Resort & Sheraton Vistana Villages. We agree that Marriott Cypress Harbour looks the nicest and we know how nice Marriotts are, but it's the furthest away & the second bedroom has a queen bed and full pull-out sofa. We would prefer 2 beds in the second bedroom, even if it means they are both full-size. The 2 BR villas at both Sheratons have 2 full-sized beds in the second bedroom, but Vistana Resort is closer than Vistana Villages.
Vistana Resort has six possible sections we could be placed in, based on our Sunday check-in date & our unit size. The villas in most of the sections are larger than the villas at Vistana Villages. We are also feeling pretty good about the quality of the rooms at Vistana Resort most of the units we could be placed in are recently renovated & look beautiful, with the exception of one area called The Palms.
After we make our exchange we can make specific requests. Most of the people who have posted on the DIS and some other sites say that their requests have been granted. Owners get first priority, paid guests second and exchanges third. Well be at the bottom of the list, but Im hoping that if I list our choices in order we will at least not be placed in the section of the resort that hasnt been renovated.
There is also one factor that Im still unclear about... some of the villas are 2BR lock-off units. Im not sure if these are considered equal to regular 2BR villa as far as an exchange goes. We would love to have a lock-off because they are much bigger and, even though two beds would be pull-outs, it would provide 4 separate sleeping areas. This would be nice since DMIL will be sharing a bed with K. With the extra living room area, they wouldnt have to sleep in the same room with Jeff & Karen. DMIL would be willing to sleep in a pull-out bed for everyone to have more privacy. The lock-offs are basically two 1BR villas put together. One side is a little bigger than the other with the Master BR (king bed), master bath, living room with Queen pull-out and full kitchen. The second side is more of an efficiency type villa with a smaller bedroom (still with a king), bathroom and a livingroom/kitchenette. I think this would be the ideal layout Im just not sure we are eligible for a lock-out with our exchange.
On my request I will list a newly renovated unit first. Next, Ill request a 2BR lock-out (in any renovated area of the resort), then list the other areas in order of our preference (largest to smallest). Hopefully well end up with something from the top half of our list. I also have to think about whether we want to request a certain floor.
I was looking at my 2008 Unofficial Guide and noticed that it listed distances to each of the parks (in minutes) from not only Disney resorts, but also from many off-property resorts. It also ranked the resorts (on & off property in the same list) based on quality. In 2008 Sheraton Vistana Resort had a score of 84, but I knew that was pre-renovations. So I just had to run out and purchase the new 2010 Unofficial Guide (I had wanted it anyways ). I was happy to find that Sheraton Vistana moved up the list from #62 in 2008 to #16! The only Disney resorts listed higher than 16 were: Kidani Village, BLT, CR, GF & The Poly. The quality score for Vistana Resort also went up from 84 in 2008 to 92 in 2010. Marriott Grande Vista, where we stayed in 2007, was ranked #14, also with a score of 92. Marriott Cypress Harbour (one of the contenders) was somewhere around #60, with a score of 86 - I was very surprised by this because I thought it was as nice as Marriott Grande Vista. Sheraton Vistana Villages isnt in the book.
Mousescrapper had asked where Sheraton Vistana is located according to the UG, its in the "I-4 corridor", which is very close to DTD.
For anyone interested, here is a comparison of the distances to the parks for various resorts. These times are parking lot to parking lot by car. I included some Disney resorts for comparison. To figure out the full commute time, condo parking lot to turnstiles, add 30 minutes for MK (since you park at the TTC), add 12-15 for Epcot and add 10 minutes for both DHS & AK.
This was a table I typed up in Word, but it's not formatting correctly here... Basically it lists the resort/commute times (in minutes) to MK/EP/DHS/AK.
Resort MK Epcot DHS AK
Sheraton Vistana Resort 11:15 6:30 9:30 9:00
Marriott Grande Vista (2007) 15:00 12:45 15:45 15:15
Marriott Cypress Harbour 17:45 13:15 17:45 16:15
(other option for 2010)
CBR (2009) 8:00 6:00 7:15 4:15
POP (2008) 8:30 6:30 6:15 5:00
SSR 14:45 8:45 18:15 14:30
Port Orleans 12:00 8:00 16:15 12:30
BLT monorail 11:00 17:15 14:15
Wilderness Lodge n/a 10:00 15:15 13:30
Now let's hope that Sheraton Vistana Resort continues to be available until I can make my exchange at midnight Wednesday night/Thursday morning. I'll let you know Thursday.
Coming up next: The big condo exchange!! Plus I'm sure I'll have some other stuff to talk about between now & Thursday...
I'll fill you in on our weekend plans later!
Now the big resort decision... I think Tim & I have decided which condo we want Sheraton Vistana Resort!
To refresh your memories, it was between Marriott Cypress Harbour, Sheraton Vistana Resort & Sheraton Vistana Villages. We agree that Marriott Cypress Harbour looks the nicest and we know how nice Marriotts are, but it's the furthest away & the second bedroom has a queen bed and full pull-out sofa. We would prefer 2 beds in the second bedroom, even if it means they are both full-size. The 2 BR villas at both Sheratons have 2 full-sized beds in the second bedroom, but Vistana Resort is closer than Vistana Villages.
Vistana Resort has six possible sections we could be placed in, based on our Sunday check-in date & our unit size. The villas in most of the sections are larger than the villas at Vistana Villages. We are also feeling pretty good about the quality of the rooms at Vistana Resort most of the units we could be placed in are recently renovated & look beautiful, with the exception of one area called The Palms.
After we make our exchange we can make specific requests. Most of the people who have posted on the DIS and some other sites say that their requests have been granted. Owners get first priority, paid guests second and exchanges third. Well be at the bottom of the list, but Im hoping that if I list our choices in order we will at least not be placed in the section of the resort that hasnt been renovated.
There is also one factor that Im still unclear about... some of the villas are 2BR lock-off units. Im not sure if these are considered equal to regular 2BR villa as far as an exchange goes. We would love to have a lock-off because they are much bigger and, even though two beds would be pull-outs, it would provide 4 separate sleeping areas. This would be nice since DMIL will be sharing a bed with K. With the extra living room area, they wouldnt have to sleep in the same room with Jeff & Karen. DMIL would be willing to sleep in a pull-out bed for everyone to have more privacy. The lock-offs are basically two 1BR villas put together. One side is a little bigger than the other with the Master BR (king bed), master bath, living room with Queen pull-out and full kitchen. The second side is more of an efficiency type villa with a smaller bedroom (still with a king), bathroom and a livingroom/kitchenette. I think this would be the ideal layout Im just not sure we are eligible for a lock-out with our exchange.
On my request I will list a newly renovated unit first. Next, Ill request a 2BR lock-out (in any renovated area of the resort), then list the other areas in order of our preference (largest to smallest). Hopefully well end up with something from the top half of our list. I also have to think about whether we want to request a certain floor.
I was looking at my 2008 Unofficial Guide and noticed that it listed distances to each of the parks (in minutes) from not only Disney resorts, but also from many off-property resorts. It also ranked the resorts (on & off property in the same list) based on quality. In 2008 Sheraton Vistana Resort had a score of 84, but I knew that was pre-renovations. So I just had to run out and purchase the new 2010 Unofficial Guide (I had wanted it anyways ). I was happy to find that Sheraton Vistana moved up the list from #62 in 2008 to #16! The only Disney resorts listed higher than 16 were: Kidani Village, BLT, CR, GF & The Poly. The quality score for Vistana Resort also went up from 84 in 2008 to 92 in 2010. Marriott Grande Vista, where we stayed in 2007, was ranked #14, also with a score of 92. Marriott Cypress Harbour (one of the contenders) was somewhere around #60, with a score of 86 - I was very surprised by this because I thought it was as nice as Marriott Grande Vista. Sheraton Vistana Villages isnt in the book.
Mousescrapper had asked where Sheraton Vistana is located according to the UG, its in the "I-4 corridor", which is very close to DTD.
For anyone interested, here is a comparison of the distances to the parks for various resorts. These times are parking lot to parking lot by car. I included some Disney resorts for comparison. To figure out the full commute time, condo parking lot to turnstiles, add 30 minutes for MK (since you park at the TTC), add 12-15 for Epcot and add 10 minutes for both DHS & AK.
This was a table I typed up in Word, but it's not formatting correctly here... Basically it lists the resort/commute times (in minutes) to MK/EP/DHS/AK.
Resort MK Epcot DHS AK
Sheraton Vistana Resort 11:15 6:30 9:30 9:00
Marriott Grande Vista (2007) 15:00 12:45 15:45 15:15
Marriott Cypress Harbour 17:45 13:15 17:45 16:15
(other option for 2010)
CBR (2009) 8:00 6:00 7:15 4:15
POP (2008) 8:30 6:30 6:15 5:00
SSR 14:45 8:45 18:15 14:30
Port Orleans 12:00 8:00 16:15 12:30
BLT monorail 11:00 17:15 14:15
Wilderness Lodge n/a 10:00 15:15 13:30
Now let's hope that Sheraton Vistana Resort continues to be available until I can make my exchange at midnight Wednesday night/Thursday morning.
I'll let you know Thursday. Coming up next: The big condo exchange!! Plus I'm sure I'll have some other stuff to talk about between now & Thursday...
He lost one of his upper canines prematurely because his mouth was crowded, so now they want to pull the other side so his teeth don't get too crooked. 
Sounds perfect!
Everyone at work keeps asking me how many days & I usually can answer exactly how many weeks & days left.
